Cucumis sacleuxii Paill. & Bois

Cucurbitaceae, C. Jeffrey. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1967

Morphology General Habit

Herb climbing or trailing to 1 m.; stems long bristly-hairy, also with shorter finer hairs intermixed, the long hairs readily breaking off and irritant.

Morphology Leaves

Leaf-blade broadly ovate-cordate in outline, shortly and rather densely hairy, also with scattered longer irritant bristles above and on the nerves beneath, sinuate-toothed, 32–91 mm. long, 41–108 mm. broad, palmately 5–7-lobed; lobes triangular, acute to obtuse, with the central lobe largest and often itself shallowly 3-lobulate with 2 shallow basal lateral triangular lobules; petiole hairy like the stems, 30–115 mm. long.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Male flowers 1–3, on 8–15 mm. long pedicels; receptacle-tube pale green, 3–5 mm. long; lobes filiform, 1.5–3.5 mm. long; petals yellow, rounded, apiculate, 7–10 mm. long, 3.5–8 mm. broad, united in lower quarter. Female flowers on 35–90 mm. long shortly bristly stalks; ovary fusiform, 12–14 mm. long, 3.5–6 mm. across, densely covered with short bulbous-based hairs; receptacle-tube campanulate, 2.5–5 mm. long; lobes filiform, 0.5–4 mm. long; petals ± 12 mm. long and 7.5 mm. broad, rounded, apiculate, shortly connate below.

sex Male

Male flowers 1–3, on 8–15 mm. long pedicels; receptacle-tube pale green, 3–5 mm. long; lobes filiform, 1.5–3.5 mm. long; petals yellow, rounded, apiculate, 7–10 mm. long, 3.5–8 mm. broad, united in lower quarter.

sex Female

Female flowers on 35–90 mm. long shortly bristly stalks; ovary fusiform, 12–14 mm. long, 3.5–6 mm. across, densely covered with short bulbous-based hairs; receptacle-tube campanulate, 2.5–5 mm. long; lobes filiform, 0.5–4 mm. long; petals ± 12 mm. long and 7.5 mm. broad, rounded, apiculate, shortly connate below.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit (fig. 15/1, p. 95) on a stalk 35 mm. or more long, obovoid or ellipsoid, subterete, 65–80 mm. long, 42–52 mm. across, smooth except for scattered very slightly elevated broad blunt spines, firm-walled, fleshy, green with pale yellow longitudinal stripes, becoming uniform dull yellow.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds lenticular, smooth, elliptic in outline, 7 × 3.5 × 2 mm.

Habitat

Rain- and swamp or other ground-water forest, less often in deciduous woodland or lowland grassland; 0–1220 m.

Distribution

K7 T3 T4 T6 U2 U4 Z